This invention relates to a dietary composition and method for promoting healthy weight loss in cats, and more particularly, to a dietary composition which includes a combination of fatty acids and protein and which, when fed to cats, promotes effective weight loss while preventing the development of diseases such as hepatic lipidosis.
Approximately 10 to 40% of cats receiving veterinary care have been reported to be overweight. Factors contributing to feline obesity include a sedentary lifestyle, confinement to indoors, and neutering. Neutered cats have a greater tendency toward weight gain, which may be due to decreased activity and altered metabolic rates. Obese cats have a greater risk for certain diseases including osteoarthritis, ligament injuries, perineal dermatitis, diabetes mellitus, cardiomyopathy, and urologic syndrome. Obese cats also appear to be particularly susceptible to feline hepatic lipidosis, a disease characterized by extensive lipid accumulation in liver parenchymal cells. Therefore, it is critical to maintain a healthy weight in order to minimize disease risk.
Safe weight loss plans must consider both the diet composition and the rate of weight loss to minimize the risk of developing diseases such as hepatic lipidosis. However, safe rapid weight loss in the feline has been made difficult because of the special dietary requirements of the cat which appear to make it more susceptible to hepatic lipidosis than other species. For example, cats appear to require 20 carbon long chain essential fatty acids such as 20:4n6 and 22:6n3 as they cannot convert dietary C18 essential fatty acids into long chain fatty acids due to a lack of .DELTA.6 desaturase. However, the dietary levels of long chain essential fatty acids which may be needed has not been determined.
A lack of proper essential fatty acids in the diet, or essential fatty acid deficiency, is known to induce fatty livers in cats, which is believed to contribute to the development of hepatic lipidosis. Essential fatty acid deficiency is also known to affect transport of lipoproteins (very low density lipoprotein (VLDL), intermediate density lipoprotein (IDL), low density lipoprotein (LDL) and high-density lipoprotein (HDL)) from the liver and lipoprotein lipase, as well as affecting lecithin cholesterol acyltransferase and fatty acid synthetase activities. Alterations of any of these parameters may contribute to the development of hepatic lipidosis.
While studies have been conducted to evaluate the effect of protein on diets designed to prevent the development of feline hepatic lipidosis, there has been little study which addresses protein-lipid interactions on weight loss and the development of feline hepatic lipidosis. Further, previous studies have used primarily diets having only single nutrients (protein, carbohydrates, fat), and have not accounted for other nutrient deficiencies (vitamin/mineral).
Accordingly, there is still a need in the art for a dietary composition for felines which provides safe, effective weight loss while preventing the development of feline hepatic lipidosis (FHL) and associated diseases.